This invention relates to computer telephony systems and more particularly to a system and method of distributing outbound telephony services over a computer network.
Automated telephone systems are used extensively to both place and receive telephone calls. For example, airline reservations systems and banks may utilize the inbound or call receiving features of an automated telephone system, while marketing groups and credit collection departments would utilize the outbound calling features of the system. In a typical outbound calling scenario, a call campaign will be initiated at a call center using a sophisticated system that combines telephone switching and computer information processing technologies. These sophisticated systems are commonly referred to as computer-telephony-integration (CTI) systems.
A CTI system will typically receive a call list associated with a call campaign from a host computer or other source of call records for the campaign. A call record includes information regarding a potential customer, including a telephone number that can be dialed by the CTI system in order to contact the potential customer. Associated with a call center is a plurality of call center agents. These call center agents each utilize work stations, which communicate, electronically through the CTI system to one or more host computers in-order to provide an agent with information regarding a call record and information regarding the purpose of a call, such as a script or the like.
CTI systems routinely include predictive dialers, which are well known in the art and enable a call canter to maximize the utilization of call center agents by automatically dialing telephone numbers associated with call records according to a simple or sophisticated call pacing algorithm. CTI systems also include call classifiers, which are able to readily detect busy signals, answering machines, voice mail, as well as telephone calls that are answered by a live person. When the call classifier detects a live person, the CTI system substantially immediately connects the live person or contacted party to an available call center agent. As can be appreciated, a finely tuned predictive dialer will attempt to pace the initiation of outbound calls so that an agent is always available to answer a call to a connected party while, at the same time, ensuring that there is not an abundance of unutilized agents at any particular time.
Typically, call centers contract with telecommunications service providers in order to obtain preferential rate structures, since call centers generate hundreds or thousands of calls per hour. Accordingly, a significant cost associated with the operation of a call center is telecommunications line charges.
In the recent past, a number of companies have developed and are marketing computer hardware and software products which permit computer users to talk to each other using voice communication and their computers over the Internet. The Internet is a network using digital data and a large number of computers which communicate with each other over various types of communications channels, including data telephone lines, such as integrated services digital network (ISDN) channels. Since most computer users either connect directly to the Internet or access the Internet via an internet service provider (ISP) using a local telephone line, the costs associated with voice communications over great distances is greatly reduced. However, one significant drawback associated with voice communications over the Internet is that the parties conducting such communications must pre-arrange to do so and be available at their respective computers at the designated time.
In order to overcome the difficulties associated with pre-arranging voice communications, hybrid Internet-based telecommunications systems and services have been developed. These systems allow a party wishing to place a long distance telephone call to initiate the call by establishing communications with a local link to the Internet. Then, the call request is forwarded over the Internet to a telecommunications provider at a locale substantially coinciding with the locale of the destination of the desired telephone call. The destination telecommunications company then establishes local voice telephone line communications with the destination party and connects the initiating party with the destination party over the Internet when the destination party answers the initiated call. However, one drawback associated with this type of system is that it relies, in part, on establishing working relationships with any number of telecommunications companies around the world. In addition, in a call center environment, the number of initiated calls in an out-bound call campaign is significantly larger than the number of calls actually connected. Accordingly, the sheer volume of digital data being transmitted to and from a call center over the Internet could result in performance degradation upon the system.
Therefore, what would be desirable to a call center initiating outbound call campaigns would be a system and method of distributing outbound telephony services, and, in particular, the predictive dialing function to a plurality of distributed call centers over a computer network. In this manner, the high overhead associated with the sheer number of calls initiated by a predictive dialer will be distributed to the distributed call centers and only live answers or connected calls will result in actual voice communications being transmitted over the computer network to a call center agent located at a master call center or at a slave call center or remote agent connected to a master call center.
The disclosed invention provides a system and method of distributing outbound telephony services including voice communications over a computer network. The system includes a master call center located at a first location. The master call center includes a computer telephony integration (CTI) system, and a digital communication server connecting the CTI system to a computer network.
Also included is at least one distributed call center located at at least one remote location. Each distributed call center includes a distributed CTI system and a digital communications server. The system is configured to connect at least one connected party with whom voice communications are established at a distributed call center over a local telephone line connecting the connected party and at least one call center agent interfacing the master call center, wherein the voice communications are conducted over the computer network.
The disclosed method of distributing outbound telephony services over a computer network begins by linking a master call center to at least one distributed call center over a computer network. The master call center includes a master CTI system and at least one master call center agent for handling voice communications with a connected party. Each distributed call center includes a distributed CTI system.
Next, at least one call list group is distributed to the distributed CTI system at a distributed call center. Each distributed call center preferably corresponds generally to a geographic parameter associated with the call records included in the call list group. Then, an outbound call campaign is initiated at the distributed call center over standard, voice telephone lines. Upon the answering of an outbound call by a live party, the connected party is connected to the distributed CTI system over the voice telephone line. Finally, the method includes establishing voice communications between the connected party and the master call center and, in particular, a call center agent over the computer network.